Christmas Morning

Things are finally quiet this afternoon.  The day started around 0630.  Em and I got up to get dressed, make coffee and have breakfast (made it much easier to make it to church by 1030).  We'd scheduled with both sets of grandparents that we would get the kids up at 0700.  They got to watch Isaac and Claire open their Christmas presents.  In the picture, you can actually see my parents watching on one of the computers.  I'm not sure how much either set of grandparents actually saw between the kids running back and forth out of the camera's range.  It was midnight their time when we got started, so they got very little sleep last night.

Claire obviously enjoyed her rocking horse.  She also enjoyed Isaac's race track.  Isaac was amazed (and perhaps irritated) that Santa ate all of the cookies he'd put out.  Claire actually licked the plate to make sure there were no crumbs left behind.

OK, time to get in a nap before the kids get up.

A Christmas Date on Steroids

Emily in front of the Christmas Tree
in Trafalgar Square.

Emily and I have had a tradition for several years.  Sometime around Christmas, we go on a very nice, overly elaborate date.  (I gave her tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet our first Christmas as a married couple, and the tradition stuck).  Basically, she wants a date the requires her to put a dress on and me to put on at least a sport coat.  This whole production gets me a pass on Valentine's Day.  Instead of fighting crowds of people waiting to get into any restaurant worth eating, we stay home.

This year, we moved the "Christmas Date" up a notch to a weekend away.  We left the kids in Belgium and the two of us spent the last couple of days in London.  We went to museums, looked at the Crown Jewels, looked at the most ornate graves we've every seen (also known as Westminster Abbey), and ate more varieties of cornish pasty than I care to recall.  The"dress up" date was going to see Les Miserables in the West End.  Em says this was more than one notch up from the normal.  For once, Emily listed a visit to a church (Westminster) as her favorite part.  The Rosetta Stone may have been a close second.  (She didn't realize it was in the British Museum until we walked up on it and I pointed it out).

Bastogne Staf Ride

The officers and senior NCOs from my battalion took a staff ride/senior leader devlopment trip to Bastogne.  We visited a lot of the battle sites surrounding the Battle of Bastogne. 

The picture you see to the left is one of the foxholes left from where Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was dug in during the seige.  You may remember that this is the company that "Band of Brothers" was written about.  The German line was within 100 yards.  You can still see the foxholes from each side.  Great experience all the way around.  The curator for the 101st Airborne Museum in Bastogne served as our tour guide.  He's also the commandant for the Belgian Army Barracks in Bastogne.  The installation is closed as an army unit (2010), but there are a few soldiers left because they have restored the parts that served as the HQ for 101st during the seige.  We stayed in their barracks.  Overall, a great experience.

Decorating for Christmas (Almost)

The Christmas season has officially started (at least it feels that way now).  We had a great crowed for Thanksgiving Thursday night.  Emily had to work that morning (thanks, NATO assignment), so we set most of the house up Wednesday night.  Everyone brought food (we only cooked a couple of things).  Everyone helped clean up afterwards.  I'm not even sure Emily washed a dish (I know I didn't). 

Friday, we went to Cologne, Germany to their Christmas Markets.  The Cologne Cathedral is breathtaking.  Emily says it's the prettiest church she's seen in Europe.  The city itself is where I think I would want to live if I lived in Germany.  (Unfortunately, there's not an army installation there).

Today, I lost the annual argument about how large of a tree we should buy. I think the top of the tree should be within an inch of the ceiling (give or take). Emily just looks for what trees are available. I guess I should stop complaining, it took three tries before we found a place that had live trees. Apparently, Belgians don't decorate until the first weekend of December.

Isaac is currently fixated on the Polar Express.  Claire is literally jumping up and down in Emily's lap.  (She seems to like ginger bread men).  The tree is up.  Most of the decorations are done.  (We still need a couple of wreaths and some poinsettas).  Isaac enjoyed putting frosting on the ginger bread men.  Actually, he enjoyed squeezing frosting directly into his mouth.  Emily made fun of my lack of talent for decorating cookies. 

Villers Abbey

I decided to forgo the Veteran's Day / Remembrance Day (for any Europeans checking in) events this year for a day alone.  Emily kept the kids, and I spent most of today at Villers Abbey.  It's the ruins of a Cistercian Abbey located about 40 minutes from our house.  I wanted to take a few pictures, wander around in the countryside, and spend some time in prayer.

The Abbey is amazing. I spent 2.5 hours wandering through the rooms where these men worshipped, ate, and worked.  Anytime I am at any type of ruins, I wonder about the lives of the people who lived there.  Today was no different, except for the realization that the monks spent almost all of their time in silence.  The designated readers obviously performed the scripture readings.  There were certain meetings where they discussed community issues.  However, most could go days without uttering a word.  I understand the danger too much introspection can have.  I do think we might benefit if we periodically took some extended time to observe, process, and understand the world we live in and the God we worship.

Otherwise, the photography was great fun.  I want to go back when the leaves are on the trees and when there's snow on the ground to take more pictures.  I do wish I'd had more time to wander the trails that run around the area.  Since it's so close, I now know where to get in a day-hike.

The Today Show in Madrid

First of all, Emily wants me to voice her strong opposition to the title of this post.  Especially since I have never met Matt Lauer and haven't seen an episode of the Today Show in a couple of years.  That is now accomplished. 
Last week, we noticed a couple of NBC cameras in Plaza Mayor (Madrid).  Emily announced that the Today Show is doing the "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?"  She thought he might be in Madrid.  Being the compassionate and sensitive husband I am, I ridiculed the idea.  This morning, she saw the episode where Matt Lauer is in Madrid at Plaza Mayor and the Royal Palace.  Being the compassionate and forgiving she is, Emily is making fun of me.

The palace was closed twice when we tried to go visit.  Now I know why.  Now you know why I entitled this post "Matt Lauer is a jerk."

Madrid

For years, we laughed when my Father would fall asleep at the
table after finishing a meal.  Apparently, the problem is
genetic.

I had leave this week, and we went to visit Madrid, Spain.  It's a great place to visit with a family.  We rented an apartment a block from the Prada Museum.  Each morning, we had breakfast at the apartment before moving out for the day.  We were staying close enough to walk throughout the city center to see the Palace Real, Plaza Mayor, and the Prada Museum.  It's not exactly like Rome where there are so many things to see that you are constantly on the move.  That kind of makes it nice with small kids.  We could go back to the apartment for a siesta (and did a couple of days).  We could walk at Isaac's pace.  Emily loved the shopping.  I enjoyed watching the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace.  You don't see a guard detail with mounted cavalry, infantry, and a canon very often.  For the first time in several years, we only visited one church on a trip.

We did notice that the city of Madrid puts a lot of effort into keeping the streets clean.  It was one of the first things we noticed when we got out of the taxi.  We had rain a couple of days, which gave Isaac the opportunity to sprint ahead and jump into puddles.  Claire took a step without holding onto anything in the apartment.  We're counting it as her first step even though I didn't see it. 

Pumpkin Carving Party

Tonight was our FRG (Family Readiness Group) Pumpkin Carving Party.  We filled the chapel's fellowship hall to just about its limit.  When I stuck the knife into the pumpkin to remove the guts, Isaac looked up and said, "I didn't know you were going to kill it!"  I'll send an autographed picture to whoever correctly identifies what movie he was quoting. 

Claire probably enjoyed the event more as she tried a lot of new food that she decided she liked far more than what she gets at home.  She's exhausted in the picture to the left. 

Otherwise, this has been a pretty easy week.  We had the 5th SIG commander in town for a couple of days.  I had the 5th SIG chaplain in town for a couple of days, which was actually enjoyable.  I normally avoid most other chaplains, but it was a lot of fun having him and SFC Ebron here.  They went with us to watch the playoffs for our flag football team.  CH Engle observed the problem I have when I can't actually be on the field.  He didn't mean it in a bad way (I hope).  I sprained a knee and ankle during last weeks game, so I spent this one on the sideline yelling at the defense instead of actually talking to the guests.  Thankfully, Emily is a far better hostess.

Emily's First Half Marathon

Today, Emily ran the SHAPE Half Marathon.  For all of her talk about not being ready and not having been able to get in her last few long runs, she did amazingly well (2:04:52).  I think she could have broken two hours if she'd come out a little harder.  She actually caught a friend and I off guard.  We'd watched the start then moved to his front yard to watch them pass at 3km and 18km.  Emily hit the 18k point several minutes ahead of when I expected.  She covered the last 2-3 miles fast enough that we almost didn't make it to the finish line before she did.  (We drove Tim's truck).

Watching races is far more fun than I expected.  Isaac, Tim, and I sat in his front yard with a camera, chicken wings, and french fries.   Next time, I'm going to set a grill up.

Roman Soldier and Sermon Critique

It took him a week, but Isaac finally let me put the breastplate on him with his Roman soldier outfit. He tried putting the helmet on as well, but his head is too large. Emily doesn't like this particular gift. Isaac was swinging the sword as she walked around the corner a few days ago and he hit her toe.

As far as work has been, today was interesting.  I have a couple in the congregation that I meet with after I preach in chapel.  They provide me feedback and suggestions on how I need to communicate better in the pulpt.  I'm not sure what it says about me that I crave criticism so much.  Emily says it is abnormal. 

The rest of the day was in an Officer Professional Development that I hope to never use.  I was falling asleep when the guy teaching the class thought the chaplain's perspective would be interesting.  I still have no idea what he asked.  I talked for a couple of minutes and spent the rest of the training praying he would fall down the stairs when he left the building (kidding...sort of). 

Claire's Birthday

This evening was Claire's first birthday party.  I had never really put much thought into first birthdays until this one.  I was in Iraq when Isaac's came up, so I'm not sure I actually remember ever going to anyone's first birthday.  I'd always assumed they were actually for the child.  That assumption turns out to be quite wrong.

The first birthday is entirely for the parents.  Presents are mainly something at which a baby stares with no real interest.  The three year old brother, however, must be threatened with all sorts of creative punishments to keep him from attacking the gifts the one year old has no interest in touching.  People are at the house, who are friends with the parents, and who enjoy seeing the one year old.  Claire just wants to be held, preferably by Daddy (I don't understand it either).  I was briefly afraid Emily would choke Claire by shoveling cake at the poor child.  In typical fashion, I never let my concern interupt the click of my camera (They should be posted tonight).

Having said all of that, Emily and I did enjoy having a number of our friends present to celebrate Claire's birthday with us.  Emily had a large gathering of our family for Isaac's first birthday, and it wouldn't have felt right without the friends who gathered with us today.

Pictures as Promised

The pictures from Rome are online (or at least they're uploading).  Today was a decent first day back to work.  I'm still struggling to finish part of my sermon for Sunday, which is a little frustrating.  I had all but one section complete two weeks ago.  It's my biggest problem when I'm working several weeks ahead.  I just can't finish the last bit.

Back to Work

It's been a very long week.  I'm still trying to process through everything I saw at Rome last week.  There's really nothing on my list that I didn't get to do.  I take that back.  I didn't see the inside of St Peter's.  We arrived to see it, and they'd closed it b/c the Pope had a public audience.  Instead, I saw the Pope.  I didn't stick around for the blessing he was giving out.  (Protestant kicked in I suppose)  Overall, I saw and learned far more than I would have with almost any other guide.  The picture is Chris Broddle and myself in front of the Spanish steps.  Chris organized and led this trip.  He's the British padre at SHAPE.  His knowledge of Rome was astounding.  I had to include a picture with him b/c he made such an issue of being in pictures.

On the more personal side, the week was a great opportunity to get a couple of hours alone each day.  It's been a while since I've had so many days in a row with that opportunity.  It's a huge opportunity to spiritually catch my breath.

Since I know my Mother really only checks this for stories and pictures of my children, I'll mention bringing Isaac's gift home.  I'd bought a horribly cheap and tacky Roman soldier outfit for him.  It had a breastplate (Neither of us could figure out how to get it on him for several days), sword, shield, and helmet.  He's currently trying to stab Emily with the sword.  He insisted we sword fight each day I've been back.  He uses the cheap sword and gives me the nice, carved, wooden sword I also brought him.

I should get a few picture posted in the next few days.  I'm still sorting through them. 

A Little Time Off

I just realized something.  This week is the first time I've taken leave without Emily being on vacation with me since I became a chaplain.  I'm hoping to get a little bit of solitude at some point.  Part of the week will be spent in Rome, with a group of British chaplains.  We're actually getting to stay in the Vatican.  I couldn't really pass on that opportunity when it was offered.  I'm hoping that during the evenings, I'll have a chance to read and pray some.  Uninterupted time alone is becoming pretty rare.  It's actually been a while since I've reached the point of needed a break this bad.  Deployment actually allowed me more of an opportunity to withdraw for time alone with God.  Part of that is probably that we now have two kids and a house that is much smaller than what we had in Texas.  Part of it is just this particular season of ministry.

Since I know most of the people who read this are far more interested in the kids than they are in my rambling, I'll give you the outline of what's going on with them.

• Isaac and I are watching "Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin" for the 12th time this week.
• Claire's hair is now getting long enough to put a bow on her head without using a headband.  (Yes, she's about to turn 1 and her hair is just now that long).
• Isaac's French has now passed mine.  He knows more than 5 words.  (No one is surprised that this has only taken a month).

Otherwise, things are still pretty routine.  I'll try to put some pictures from September in my web albums this afternoon.

Every Child Needs a Dog

My biggest complaint with coming to Belgium is still probably that I had to give away Ox, my weimereiner.  Every little boy should grow up playing with a dog.  This past weekend, we kept Charlie for some friends.  Claire thought he was great.  Charlie handled her much better than Isaac.  He would get excited and jump up and down as he moved toward Charlie.  The dog backed away, unsure what to think of Isaac.  I have nothing worth putting online, but I did think this picture was pretty good.

Getting Isaac (or me) a dog will be the first priority when we do eventually get moved back to the States...maybe before we find a house.

This week, I have thought a good bit about a comment I heard a few weeks ago.  A senior chaplain made a comment about the chaplain corp "eating it's own."  Just watching how chaplains and chaplain assistants function, I think the statement is more and more accurate. 

Seeing Old Friends Again

 

Last week, I had to attend Chaplaincy Annual Sustainment Training in Garmisch, Germany.  As with most army training of this nature, the actual training was less than exciting.  There were a couple of bright points.  A couple of friends I went through the Chaplain's basic course with were there.  Brian (left side) managed to get a coin from the Chief of Chaplains for his karyoke rendition of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."  That song takes on a whole new deminsion when an Orthodox priest is calling for the crowd to stand up and dance with him.

Our Small Group Leader from the basic course also was at the training.  He's now on a garrison chaplain's staff in Germany.  I've not met another senior chaplain for whom I have half as much respect.  He's very much the epitome of what a chaplain should be.  Dinner with these guys was the highlight of the week.

Isaac's birthday was this weekend, which was funny.  Emily said he was horrified this morning when he came into the living room and his slide was gone.  Apparently he sat in the middle of the rug and cried until Emily realized what he was looking for and told him it was in the play room.

Pictures.

I'm posting now b/c I doubt I'll have a chance for a week or so.  Most people who will see this post quickly are probably looking for pictures.  The stuff from the awards/promotion ceremony is at the link on the right of this page.  I'm only going to leave them online for about a week, as I'm running out of space in my album.

Otherwise, this weekend should be a lot of fun.  SHAPE Fest is this weekend, which is just the large festival that the entire community at SHAPE participates in.  I get to sit in the dunk tank at some point tomorrow in weather entirely too cold for dunk tanks.  Sunday, we have a 9.11 K run on Sunday morning and a memorial service for 9/11 that evening at the chapel.

Next week is what I've been dreading for months...CAST-E.  This is a week of mandatory training for chaplains.  I have actually prayed that funding would fall through the budget problems this year (seriously).  My attitude is in serious need of help.  This will be 4 days of information overload on things that will change or be irrelevent in a matter of three months.  The only redeeming part of this conference is that it takes place in Garmisch, Germany.  That means I'll wake up to a view of the Alps each morning.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get a little hiking in at some point.

Isaac's First Day of School

Today was Isaac's first day of kindergarden.  We've put him in the Belgian school here, so they start kindergarden at 3 instead of 5.  This is him getting his backpack and lunch bag before we left.  He insisted that he carry both without help from me.  I did manage not to tear up until I dropped him off and got back to my car.  Emily had to be in her classroom, though a friend did stop by to give her a hug (thanks Sarah).

It's been a while since I posted.  That's mostly because I try to avoid using this particular venue for venting.  Em and I are trying to sort through where God is leading us in the future (in the area of ministry), and that has really kept me preocuppied lately. 

Claire is well.  She's getting fast with crawling and can sort of climb steps at this point.  She stands and moves while holding on to furniture, but she's still a few weeks from attempting her first "real" steps.

Emily is enjoying being back in a classroom.  She's really enjoying the fact that it's a half-day kindergarden so she gets to go running in the afternoon before she goes to get Claire from daycare.  She's planning to try her first half marathon in October.  Give me another 7 years and I'll have her in a full marathon. 

Update

A friend emailed to point out that the blog has been a bit boring as of late.  (Thanks Cole, you're still a jerk).  I'm not sure why.  I suppose not a lot has really happened this month that I think other people would find interesting.  Claire has sprouted another tooth.  She's also crawling.  I suppose it's crawling.  For those in the army, it's actually just a low crawl.  Emily insists she is developing a bit of a attitude.  I insist Emily is wrong about my little girl.  This coming week is VBS at SHAPE, which should keep things busy.  I have no real responsibility other than providing a devotional thought for the leaders each morning, but I'm supposedly providing oversight.  Our VBS director is amazing, so I've really done nothing.

On Wednesday, I went to a prayer service for those killed recently in Norway.  It was a moving service to me.  I always enjoy hearing the Norwegian chaplain speak.  We disagree on a lot of our theology, but it's always a well thought out and insightful sermon.  His thoughts on how we respond to this type of brutality were as well crafted as I would have expected.  (Sorry, it's something of an occupational hazard that you grade memorial services in military ministry).

We're trying to get Isaac ready for school next month.  He's going to start in the Belgian kindergarden on SHAPE.  Em is excited about teaching again....we just have to work out childcare for Claire.

I couldn't be prouder

This afternoon, we got a package from my parents.  As I'm sure you can guess, they updated Claire's wardrobe for football season.  She'd been fussy.  Emily changed her into her outfit, and you can see the response.  I couldn't be more excited that she's already responding to red and blue.  Isaac is learning Hoddy Toddy (an editted version).  Basically, I'm getting the kids ready for college football season.

If you look, you can see the two teeth Claire has managed to sprout.  If you get your hand close enough, you can feel them quite well.

Routine

Lately, the only things that are happening out of the normal routine revolve around Isaac's astounding creativity in finding new ways to create problems (microwaving metal lids, spraying inside kitchen cabinets with windex, and discovering how to disable the deadbolt and child locks, et al) or the new skills Claire is picking up.  Hers are much more pleasant to respond to than most of Isaac's new skills, so I'll update you on those.  The picture you see is zoomed in a little too close to get the full impact.  She had managed to slide/crawl/roll under her crib.  It took Emily a few minutes to find her after hearing the first frustrated whine from the nursery.  While she hasn't really perfected the crawl, she's definitely moving herself to where she wants to go.  When she can't quite make it, she whines and I move her to whatever she wants.  (I'm very much a pushover with her).

Otherwise, everything is basically moving along the same as always.  I've probably missed the States more over the last 2-3 weeks.  Actually, it's just the southeastern part of the States I've missed.  I can't really pinpoint what it is.  Partly, it's the weather.  When you spend 33 years living with summers of 90+ degrees every day for 4-5 months and occasionally for another 2 months, it just doesn't feel right to have a summer with days the temperature doesn't reach 70.  I would normally already be reading up for the start of college football season.  This year, I'm not even sure who is competing at quarterback for Ole Miss.  (This oversight is being remedied as we speak.  My family has already mailed some of the preview magazines).  Maybe after this assignment, I'll land back closer to home.

Small Steps

There really has not been a lot to mention since my last post so I'll just give a few bullet points. 

• Emily will be teaching kindergarden for half days this fall. 
• Claire has her first tooth and has experienced her first bee sting.   (Emily was more tramatized than Claire.)
• Isaac has learned not to stick his finger into the blades of a fan.  (He's fine.)
• Isaac has developed a love for head banging to heavy metal music and early '90s alternative rock.  We've done it before dinner every night this week.
• I'm still not good in softball.  (But I put the picture on here anyway) 

Otherwise, nothing new is going on at work.  The garrison I'm at is short two protestant chaplains, so I've gotten to preach more, which is always good.  Everything is still a little disorganized with the short staffing of chaplains and assistants.  Thankfully, that's only minimally my problem as I just kind of retreat back to taking care of my battalion.

Anyway, that's the rather uneventful last couple of weeks.  There are some random pictures from the month and my battalion's organizational day events in my photo albums.

Another Round of Father's Day

Many more Father's Days like today and I'll be in favor of striking the whole thing.  We got up and moving early this morning to get my Mother-in-Law to the airport in Brussels.  (Hope you had a safe flight, Shelia).  I preached for the Brussel's garrison before getting back to Chievres to meet with a soldier.  Basically, it was 1700 before I wound down for the day.  At least I got to play with the kids tonight.

As a side note, Isaac reached a new low at dinner tonight.  We're sitting and talking with the kids.  He gets out of his chair and walks over to Claire.  We assume he's going to offer her a toy or some food (which he's done recently).  Instead, he takes her high chair and pushes it into the next room.  He walks back to the table as though nothing has happened and gets back into his chair for a few more bites of enchiladas.  As I said the week Claire was born, Isaac loves her when he gets attention for being a loving big brother.  When she doesn't get him attention, she's a nuisance that must be overcome.

Proof that rednecks are everywhere

Today, we went to SHAPE for the British Summer Fete.  There's a game that I had been warned about, but still seems funny to actually play.  It's "Wellie Wanging."  Basically, you see who can throw a rubber boot the furtherest.  I can easily imagine how many pints the two Brits that came up with this must have pitched back before creating this game.  What is harder to imagine is how this became such a cultural event that the British contingent to SHAPE felt that it should be included in an event that shares part of their culture with the community.  Isaac thought it was great fun.  We fully expect to be hit in the face with one of his rubber boots one day next week when we walk into his room.  I was briefly in the lead with 76 feet before it was ecclipsed. 

 

On a somewhat related note, on Wednesday of this week my battalion had a German / American sports day with the German reps on SHAPE.  Basically, they grilled brats.  We beat them 43-6 in softball.  They beat us like red-headed stepchildren in soccer, and we all went home.  Great fun. My soccer skills have not improved since high school.  My ability to crash into people and shove and elbow may have improved.  Either way, I'm still bruised from that one.

Seven Years of Marriage

Seven years ago, yesterday, Emily and I got married in Leoma, TN.  In the last seven years, we've lived in five houses in three states and one foreign country.  I've served in two churches and become a chaplain in the army.  Emily finished her degree and has taught school in two places.  (We're hoping she'll be able to make that three this fall).  Somewhere in amongst that, we had two children.  She's been remarkably patient and encouraging as I've bounced us around way more than I would have wanted.  She raised Isaac alone for his first year while I was in Iraq.  I knew seven years ago that I was marrying above my head.  Now, I know exactly how far over my head I was marrying.

We spent this weekend in Venice to celebrate (one of the perks of being stationed in Europe is travel).  Some friends kept the kids and we wandered up and down canals, museums, and random piazzos sipping espresso and eating gellato.  The kids probably had as much fun playing with the Brown family this weekend.  Isaac gave them a scare by getting distracted on the staircase and taking a face-first tumble.  You can see the black-eye in a few of the pictures in my photo albums.  As I was getting ready to take the picture to document his black eye, Emily reminded me that he'd had one in October after he tried to climb a ladder.

Concentration Camp and Charity Runs

Today has been a fun day most of the way around.  This morning, the senior leadership of the battalion had a staff ride to the Fort Breendonk concentration camp.  This was a WWI era for the Belgian army used to help defend Antwerp.  It was decommissioned before WWII.  After the Nazi invation, it become a holding camp as Jewish prisoners and resistance workers were held before they were sent to extermination or work camps in Germany, Austria, or Poland.  Amazing place to visit.  It's remarkably well restored.  It's preservation of the experiences of those held there is largley because it became a monument within a few years of WWII's end.  The early board of directors consisted mostly of survivors of the camp, so they had a personal investment in keep the camp close to it's original condition.  Truly an amazing place to visit.  Hopefully I'll get to take Emily and the kids there at some point. 

This evening, we went over to SHAPE to watch soldiers as well as members of the Protestant Chapel community participate in a fundraising project for the Make a Wish Foundation.  This is an annual event that is a fundraiser for that foundation.  It was a lot of fun watching our soldiers spend time together, hang out, and enjoy supporting a great charity.

I'll get a few pictures from Breendonk up this evening.

Back to Work

I signed back into work on Friday. Tomorrow will be my first day really back to full spead after Mom and Dad were here this week.  (There are a few more pictures from their visit in the photo albums page now).  This morning, we went to International Baptist Church.  Em & I had been saying we would visit there since we arrived in Belgium.  I just find it hard not to go to chapel if we're in the area since I am part of the preaching schedule there.  It felt great to be back in a local church.  Pastor Al had a great sermon on Nehemiah's preparation for the ministry God had laid before him.  (Prayer and planning if you're wondering).  I still miss many things about pastoring a church.  One of my frequent frustrations with the army chaplaincy is the feeling of competition that most chaplains have with the local church.  Theologically, this horrifies me.  Even on a practical level, it seems like a level of egotism and insecurity that has no real place in Christian ministry.  Part of it goes back to the fear many chaplains I meet seem to have of representing their denomination.  Another large part of it is that many chaplains I meet have had horrible experiences serving in local churches.  Their hurt and anger becomes detrimental to the Church because they no longer see it as the Bride of Christ.  Those feelings are common among many people, but are especially damaging when clergy oppose the church.

Anyway, my parents are trying to get to bed.  They're leaving early in the morning (Emily is taking them to the airport).

Paris in a Day

This morning, Emily & I took Mom and Dad to do Paris in a day.  With my parents and both children, we took them to the Eiffel Tower, Arch de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, and walked around a lot of the city.  The kids were great (since I'm the one posting, we're crediting my influence as a father on that one).  I warned my wife that I was going to dip and then kiss her in front of the Eiffel tower.  She laughed and said it was a great idea.  She was completely shocked when after the first picture, I threw her backwards and kissed her.  My mother then looks at my father and threatens him if he tried to do the same.

My mother still says I showed her more of what Paris looks like below ground than above.  I believe in parking and using the subway system.  I think I may just let them walk everywhere when we go to Brussels on Thursday.  They'll see more and have sore feet when they get home.  Emily thinks I should edit this and be nice, but she's still not the one writing this post.  We actually did see a lot, especially with the time we lost getting parked and fighting traffic.  I have decided that my previous verbal and written comments about French drivers have been entirely too gracious. 

I tried to upload more pictures onto this page, but it took too long.  There are pictures in the photo albums (link on the right).

Parc Paridisio

Last night, Isaac made my Father crawl onto Claire's playmat.  He then commenced to ordering fast food from my Father.  I know the child has not been to drive through window since we moved to Belgium.  We cannot begin to comprehend where this one came from. 

Today, we finally visited Parc Paridisio (or whatever the new name is).  This is a zoo/park that we'd heard about since we arrived in Belgium.  The description was that it was a great place to take the kids, but too expensive.  We waited until this year so we could buy the season pass.  Great day.  It was especially nice visiting a zoo with my parents along to help catch the kids and keep them coralled and fed.  I managed to sit in some animal's feces within the first thirty minutes of arriving.  I sat down to take pictures of Isaac with a peacock.  When I stood up, Emily pointed out that there was something on my shorts.  At least I know my wife is still checking me out after seven years.  There are new pictures on my photo page from the zoo.

Family Visit

I’ve almost posted a couple of times over the last week, but time seems to have been in pretty short supply.  While delayed, I did want to share my thoughts on Osama bin Laden’s death.  I do believe he deserved exactly what he got.  I’m proud that US intelligence and special forces executed their mission so well.  Like most other soldiers I have talked to about the news, his death is symbolic.  There will be another mental case that will step into his role.  We will continue to have soldiers in Afghanistan.  Many soldiers I have spoken to think this will actually decrease the amount of media attention the war in Afghanistan receives. (How often do you see reports from Iraq on the news?  There are still 47,000 US troops in Iraq).  My other question concerning bin Laden’s death is the response of the US public.  Dancing in the street?  Really?  This is the response to killing someone?  I believe the man deserved to die, but our response as a nation was over the top.  It should not have been that surprising that eventually US forces would find him, and as evil as the man was, another mental case will step into his role.

OK, now that a very small rant is over, my parents arrived her last week to spend a few days with us, which has been great.  Isaac is very jealous when his Grandaddy gives Claire any attention.  Claire is just thrilled to have more people at whom she can stare.  We’ve completed the customary argument about who’s paying for what, and the obligatory catching up on people from Laurel.  The next few days should let them see some of the sights around here.

Scotland

This week, we took a vacation to Scotland.  We landed in Edinburgh on Monday and made a loop up the coast and back down through the Highlands back into Edinburgh.  The pictures are in my photo albums, so I'll spare anyone a play by play of the week.  Driving on the left side of the road was an adventure.  I managed to damage a tire on the rental car when my GPS couldn't figure out the difference between a left turn and a traffic circle (for those not living in Europe, don't worry about it).  The kids did really well.  This was Isaac's first actual vacation with us.  I'm the guy that has his itinerary when he leaves on vacation.  We make a lot of adjustments as we go, but the point is we try to get a lot of things into most vacations.  Both kids did pretty well handling the pace without complaining too much.  (Isaac managed one major meltdown, and Claire did not like Edinburgh Castle. 

With the flight schedules we could get, we got back to Belgium on Friday night, which turns out to be nice because we have a couple of days to wash clothes, get the house in order, and rest before really getting back to work.  Unfortunately, getting in on Friday also means I can't sign out a lawn mower until Monday, and my yard is about a week overdo to be mowed.

The picture I put on this page is the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrew's Scotland.  I didn't get to play the course, but even Emily was excited looking at what we could see of the course.

A not so triumphant return to golf

I got up at 0215 this morning.  I got dressed and got in the car and drove four hours to Wiesbaden, Germany to play in the 5th Signal Command Golf Scramble.  My battalion commander and our operations NCOIC are both extremely good golfers.  The CSM and myself just enjoy playing.  I realized tonight that the last time I played golf, I was on R&R from my tour in Iraq.  The last time I consistently played golf was the summer of 2008 (CHBOLC).  With that in mind, I'm fairly proud that I only lost two balls in eighteen holes.  Unfortunately, we finished well behind the leaders.  One of our two ringers had an off day.

I didn't particularly like the course, but it was nice to be playing golf again.  I've got to figure out a way to get a membership at one of the golf clubs in Belgium.  It costs way too much money, but I really enjoyed a day on the course again.

Otherwise, this week has been as busy as I expected.  We've had noon and end of the workday prayer services for Holy Week.  I finally got around to getting my ankle checked.  (Mainly due to threats from Emily).  It's fine.  Emily was over-reacting to pain that wasn't even hers.  (I'm seeing if she actually reads the blog, which I doubt).

Youth Camp

This past week, I went with the SHAPE Club Beyond to a middle school adventure camp.

For those who don't know, Club Beyond is a ministry of Military Community Youth Ministries.  I speak at our chapter occasionally and volunteered to chaperone this camp a few months back.  Youth camp is actually a lot more fun as a small group leader.  All I had to worry about was my four middle school boys.  It was great being able to dump any issues or problems on Megan (center), who is the Club Beyond leader for SHAPE.  The guys in my group had some great questions about who God is and how we relate to him.  It was actually a lot of fun to be with students again.  I still never see myself back in youth ministry, but the opportunity to help support student ministry without leading student ministry last week was great.  The camp facility had rock climbing, caving, moutain biking, etc., so it was a lot of fun on that side of it as well.  I'll post a few pictures online later in the day. 

Looking ahead, this week is going to be hectic.  We have daily prayer services for Holy Week.  I'm supposed to play in a golf scramble in Germany.  We're also getting ready for vacation next week. 

Several people have asked Emily about pictures from the marathon last week.  I'm putting those online as soon as I finish this post.  I'll try to post something before we head out next week.

Training up a child

This picture was a fun one.  On Saturday, we went to a baby shower at a friend's house.  (There is an odd tradition of husbands sitting on the back patio during the baby showers with my current battaslion).  Anyway, there is a 14th century churh half a block from their house.  Isaac and I explored a little while before goign to the shower.  This picture was taken just outside of the church yard.  At one point, this was the village's wall. 

Sunday afternoon, I began the process of preparing Isaac for a very important part of his life as a big brother, preventing any little boy from ever asking his sister out.  Basically, I taught him to say, "No boy is good enough for Claire."  When she's about 12, I'll start a rumor that I have PTSD.  Hopefully, between that and Isaac, we'll push Claire's first date until 3 months after I'm dead.

Claire's Personality Begins

Well, I've wondered how Claire's personality is going to differ from Isaac lately.  A lot of that is just b/c Isaac has developed quite the love for attention.  He's loud and something of a clown.  Today, we got our first glimpse at how she may respond to such an older brother. 

Isaac fell asleep on the living room floor after lunch.  Claire manaed to scoot off of her play mat to grab his blanket.  Isaac doesn't sleep without a blue blanket (it really doesn't matter which one, as long as its blue).  You can see the beginnings of a smile as she begins trying to pull it out from under Isaac.  Emily claims that when Isaac would pull it back, Claire would giggle and restart. Nothing like learning how to irritate her big brother from a very early age.

Marriage Retreats and Window Washing



Glass blower in Willingen, Germany.


A few hours ago, we got back from a Strong Bonds Retreat in Willingen, Germany.  For those who aren't in the military, Strong Bonds Retreats are relationship skills retreats for singles, families, or couples in the army.  I end up leading 2-3 most years.  This past weekend was a marriage retreat.  We took 13 couples and almost 40 of their kids to Willigen on Friday.  The resort was great.  The food was amazing.  I'm still uncomfortably full.  I'm not sure how the classes were.  I'm probably not the best to evaluate those.  I'll read everyone else's evaluations tomorrow.

During a few hours off, Em and I walked down to watch a local artisan that makes glass.  I agreed to go in order to be a good husband, assuming this time would be better spent doing anything else.  It was actually really interesting to watch the skill with which this guy worked.  I'd like to go back during ski season to spend a few days on the slopes.

As for family news from the last week or so, Isaac helped me wash windows last week.  Emily says she's done nothing interesting this week.  Isaac's potty training is still moving very slowly.  The next month should be busy, so things may get more interesting (assuming I have time to actually blog).

An overrated classic movie

Last Friday, at lunch Emily and some friends of ours discovered that I have never seen "The Sound of Music."  Conveniently, our friends had the movie.  Friday and Saturday night, we watched The Sound of Music and a Quentin Tarrentino movie.  I can honestly say, I doubt I will ever watch The Sound of Music again.  It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but I spent most of the movie hoping I was watching the last scene.  It's not really that the movie was bad.  I just never got interested.  I appreciate the soundtrack, just didn't really care that much about the characters.  I laughed throughout the Tarrentino movie (not typing the name b/c it involves profanity).  Emily laughed through most of it, but got angry when the movie ended the way most Tarrentino movies end.

Otherwise, I had another new experience this weekend.  I drove to a monestary near Brussels to provide a worship service for the end of a Protestant Women of the Chapel Retreat.  I realized that in almost 13 years of working in churches, this is the first women's group I'd ever preached to.  Somewhat of an intimidating experience for whatever reason.  The monestary grounds were amazing.  I'd love to use the monestary for a personal or group retreat.  The grounds were beautiful.  I never saw any of the monks.  I think most of their areas are in wings other than the ones used for retreats.

Crossage, No FB, and another milestone

OK, since my last post, I spent a few days with soldiers in Germany.  Insomnia has returned (even less fun than I remembered it).  I found a new favorite game, and Claire has successfully rolled over.  The last two are the only things on that list that are really that interesting. 

The first picture is from one of the streets of Chievres, Belgium.  You can see me in the orange jacket in the middle of the picture.  The game is called "crossage."  Basically, you have a large, wooden mallet (rabot) and a large, oblong, wooden ball (chollette).  The streets are closed to traffic, you whack the ball toward kegs in the street and yell "chollette!!!" with each stroke.  This is a useless cry because there are always 2-5 other groups playing the same stretch of the street.  As often as not, they're hitting in your direction and vice versa.  There is no taking turns, you just walk out, hit your chollette and hope you don't get hit in the forehead by someone else's chollette.  I could never discern any consistent set of rules.  Everyone kind of made up their own method of competing.  I don't have a lot of picture b/c my camera cost way more than I'm willing to lose when it gets smacked by a large wooden mallet.  I'll post a few pictures in the photo albums next week when I get more.

The second picture is Claire's first time to roll completely over.  She cried briefly.  Emily got me out of the backyard to see.  Claire had fallen asleep during the intervening 30 seconds, so we let her sleep like this.

The only other exciting thing I've had is getting to speak two consecutive Sundays in chapel.  Em pointed out that I referenced the sermon I'd preached the previous week.  It's nice to be able to consistently share from scripture.  This weekend, I'll go to Brussels to speak at a worship service with the Protestant Women of the Chapel.  I've definitely missed getting to speak this consistently.

I did try an experiment this week.  I deactivated my Facebook account.  Emily noticed the next day.  My mother noticed 3-4 days later.  Other than that, I think I made it under the radar.

Another Isaac Story



Isaac watching traffic go by from the kitchen window.
If you look, he's snacking on a block of parmesean
cheese (In his left hand).

Isaac seems to be continually learning new habits and ways of making us laugh (or scream). Let's recap the day. This morning, I couldn't find him for a couple of minutes. The doors were still locked, so I knew he wasn't playing in the street. I found Isaac standing in the windowsill in the kitchen. He had used a chair to climb up and was standing behind the curtain while eating a block of parmesean cheese and waving at the passing traffic. Tonight, we had friends over for dinner. When I had not heard him in a few minutes, I checked the kitchen. He was sitting on the counter, shaking the last of a half bottle of red wine vinegar onto the cabinet. He proudly proclaimed, "I making pink." The red color of the vinegar was diluted on the counter. After cleaning that, he played in his room until he eased back into the kitchen without us realizing. This time he was found eating the cherry pie our friends had brought for dessert.  His explanation..."I eat it.  It good."

 

Isaac helping himself to cherry pie.



Holland



The watch shop that was owned
by the Ten Boom family.  Their home
is upstairs and adjacent.


It's been a while since I posted.  A lot of that has been that for whatever reason, I've been frustrated with several things at work lately.  I try not to get into that online.  It's just not beneficial.

This weekend, we went to Amsterdam for the first time.  On Saturday, we drove to Haarlam, Holland to visit the Corrie Ten Boom Museum.  Amazing experience.  It's the only museum I've ever been to that allows visitors to touch and photograph pretty much anything.  Isaac and I crawled into the hiding place where six Jews and Dutch Resistence workers hid during a Nazi raid.

That afternoon, we went the the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.  Emily enjoyed that.  I've already seen a lot of his major works, but this museum has the largest collections of his works in the world. 

This morning, we visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.  Another amazing experience.  I was surprised at the size of their hiding place.  They had more room than I had always assumed based on reading the dairy and play in junior high.  The building is completely unfurnished, per Otto Frank (Anne's Father), but many of the photos that are in the museum really bring their story to life. 

After that, I walked my wife and kids through on of the Red Light Districts in Amsterdam.  (Not a destination you might expect from a minister).  It was appropriately dull for 10 am on a Sunday morning.  It's just one of those things we wanted to say we had done.  Emily also wanted to stop for coffee at one of Amsterdam's "coffee bars."  I had to explain that any coffee house in Amsterdam with Bob Marley pictures on the window probably doesn't make money from coffee beans.

Brugge

Looking down one of the canals in Brugge.

Well, nothing spectacular for the week.  We've kind of taken January easy.  Most of the interesting stuff we've done is local.  This morning, we loaded up and drove up to Brugge, Belgium.  The city has maintained a huge amount of its medieval architecture and layout.  The canals still run throughout the old sections of town.  When it's warm, gondolas move up and down the canals.  This morning, some canals had a thin layer of ice.  Obviously, none of us were getting on a boat with 30 degree temps.  Isaac did request a bath in the first canal he saw.  Thankfully, he asked, so I was able to head that one off before he pulled his pants off.

Other news, Emily bought chocolate molded in the shape of rats this afternoon.  I have no idea why.  She then insisted we take pictures of them before we ate them.  I refused to put the pictures on the blog.  (Seriously, she wanted to put the pictures on here.)

The restaurant we ate lunch in had a sensor over its door.  Every time the door opened it buzzed.  Isaac kept insisting that Emily apologize for passing gas when it buzzed.  Emily insists that I announce that she tried mussels for the first time in her life today.  She had one mussel from my plate.  Wait, I've been corrected.  She had two mussels from my plate.  She's apparently now an expert.

Another One Down

Well, today is another birthday down.  Thanks to many who mentioned it on Facebook.  It's not been a bad day.  Emily and I went to dinner on the Grand Place in Mons last night.  Today was a long run in marathon prep with a friend.  Afterwards, I squatted down to help Isaac tie his shoes.  I stayed down until Emily helped me stand back up.  I ordered my Garmin Forerunner watch (birthday gift), and currently a huge pot of jambalaya is on the stove simmering.  Overall, very good day.

We also gave Claire her first taste of baby food at lunch today.  She liked the sqaush enough that she would get excited when we put a spoon full in her mouth, she'd start to laugh and spit it back out.  She would end up eating the same spoon full of squash three times.

Isaac feels that he's been patient enough waiting for me to play "letters" with him, so I'll close for the time being.

Breaking a rule

Emily and I have a rule we normally follo whenever we have to move.  It's something we started on the first move after we married.  We never evaluated a place we lived until we had been there for six months.  We've almost at the four month mark, but I asked Em what she tought about our new home.  I guess the topic came up because we were picking up after a party at our house.  It was a friend's suprise party that we hosted.  (Low country boil did not help how much I miss Southern cuisine).  Anyway, Emily likes the layout of our house.  (It's a great house when we aren't snow bound).  The fact that we can easily to travel throughout Europe is another huge plus.  I think the thing that is helping us feel most at home is that our battalion has a real sense of family.  We'd heard about the sense of family in military communities, but this battalion really embodies that sense of community.

On the family front, Isaac managed to make it through a 2 hour lunch with flying colors this afternoon.  A friend's baby was baptized this morning, so we went to the Anglican chapel service.  Afterwards, we had lunch with them at Maison Du Berger, which lasted the mornal time for a meal at a Belgium restaurant.  Isaac never complained.  He never tried to get up.  Basically, there was no problem at all with a two year old at a restaurant for two hours.

Sick Kids

Let's recap the last couple of weeks.  We're getting back into the routine after Christmas.  We're getting scheduled for vacation and family visits over the next months.  Isaac had a stomach virus for a couple of days this week.  Today, the rest of us came home from chapel with the bug.  The funny thing was this evening.  I'm on the couch.  Em's in the recliner.  Claire is in her "bouncy seat."  Isaac realized no one else felt good, so he tried to take Claire's temperature.  He actually bounced and entertained her for about half an hour this evening.  I finally had to have hime come take my temperature so he'd stop sticking the thermometer in her ear.  We were pretty impressed with how well he handled everyone else being sick.

Isaac seemed to be better after 24-36 hours, so we're hoping to be better tomorrow.